A New Era: The Rise of The Old Kingdom
by At the Heart of the Storm
Summary: Heir to a Throne of a world that should not exist? Darkness is growing stronger within the Wizarding World and one woman, raised by Muggles is the only one who can save them. SS/OC REWRITTEN


**A New Era: The Rise of The Old Kingdom.**

**Full Summary:** The Darkness within the Wizarding world is reaching its peak of power and there's only one person who can save them now… The final heir to the Wizarding Throne… Follow this young woman as she fights for the lives and peace of her people while juggling her Exams, Royal Duties and Love Life… How will she react when her life is turned upside down?

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**Chapter One: Fire In the Night**

Dumbledore sighed as stood at the window of his tower, watching as his familiar flew off into the night, Fawkes's tail feathers bright against the night sky. His shoulders slumped wearily as he lowered his aging body into the chair behind his desk. Things had not turned out the way he had planned and now he was paying for his mistakes. It was easy to see in retrospect the decisions he _should_ have made years ago but at the time the casualties had been so few that he thought he could handle managing the war.

He had been so busy playing God that he hadn't realised how much help he truly needed. He was only glad that he hadn't been too late in realising his mistakes. Or rather, glad that Minnie had once again put her foot down and spoke her mind. The outcome may have been disastrous otherwise.

The portraits looked down at the man that sat in the Headmaster's chair as the various instruments tinkled and whirled, his shoulders drooped under the weight of far too many responsibilities. They had seen this coming for years now but what could they do? The rules forbade them for getting involved. They were

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Hovering miles above a little suburban town, Fawkes spread his senses through the house he was to deliver his letter to. The house was silent and its inhabitants were deeply asleep and dreaming and with a flash of flames he entered the young woman's home. He paused as she turned over in her sleep, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders and onto the pillows.

Padding silently over to her bed, Fawkes placed the parchment on her chest and hopped up onto the railing of her bed, letting a soft soothing melody fill the room, keeping the other occupants of the house asleep but gently waking her up at the same time.

With a deep breath and a sigh Leanne woke gently from what felt like a deep refreshing sleep. Her eyes fluttered open blearily, long eyelashes brushing feather-light across her cheeks and she reached across her bed to turn on her lamp. A sweet sound filled her room and Leanne sat up as her gaze landed on the most magnificent creature she had ever seen. Its large bird shaped body was covered in the most amazing fire coloured plumage and its face and eyes were soft and gentle. It chirped at her, pausing its song briefly before continuing where it had left off.

Leanne sat in awe of the beautiful bird, well aware of what it was and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The pain the sparked through her leg told her she was very much awake and she glanced down at her bed sheets as she rubbed her leg, her gaze quickly captured by an envelope.

The parchment was a stark contrast to the letters she was used to receiving and she handled it with care as she turned it over and opened it by slipping her finger under the wax seal, the phoenix imprinted on it far too pretty to destroy. It was addressed to her with the first line of the address being 'The Bedroom That Faces the Road'.

The bird song washed over her, helping remove the fear that began to form in her mind of a stalker and she slipped the letter out of its casing, her eyes quickly skimming over its contents.

She started as the phoenix brushed his head against her arm and reached to stroke his head as she reread the letter more carefully.

It took her three more tries to retain the information and she took a deep breath as she turned to look at the beautiful bird that was crooning softly at her.

"So you're here to take me away to this school then pretty guy?" Leanne's head flopped to the side and mouth fell open at his nod and she could only stare at him as he seemed to chuckle at her. "Okay…" Her voice trailed off, her tone slightly confused at his human gesture. "Okay, so then let's go. I want to be back before anyone wakes up."

Fawkes, not possessing vocal cords, was unable to explain to her that it was not a temporary situation and so hopped up onto her shoulder, transporting them straight to the Headmaster's office.

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The occupants of the Headmaster's office watched in shock as the young woman began jumping around spasmodically, brushing her hands across her body and making little squeaking noises as though Fawkes's fire had burned her and she was trying to make sure she put it all out.

They watched as she fell over her own feet and went splaying across the stone floor and their mental images of a graceful and powerful saviour were shattered. The looks they shared spoke volumes and Dumbledore, ignoring the looks, cleared his throat as the young woman sat up again with a whispered 'ow' that seemed to carry around the room.

It took a substantial amount of Severus's willpower to keep a straight face and remain in his seat at the production the young woman produced. His presence had been requested and he did not wish to receive a lecturer for a lack of manners when in the presence of the future Queen.

Severus mentally sighed. This whole thing was going to become tedious in very short order. He was snarky and rude by nature, it not just something he had become to deepen his cover. It was an intrinsic part of who he was and no person – Queen or otherwise – was likely to change that.

Leanne sprang to her feet at the sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat, the movement once again focusing Severus' attention on the current situation and they watched as the young woman blushed scarlet at seeing her night clothes untouched by Fawkes's flames.

"Sorry. That was a bit of an instinctual reaction. Apologies." She bobbed her head slightly, the blush still staining her cheeks though reduced to a light pink, her discomfort clear from her mode of speech.

Sensing this and wanting the girl to feel more at ease, Minerva waved her wand and her night clothes were instantly replaced with a long cream dress covered in delicate gold embroidery that sparkled as the candlelight hit it.

Its sleeves were long and snug to her arms and it hugged her figure nicely, the square neckline sitting modestly with the barest amount of cleavage and drawing the eyes down to her small waist and generous hips before flowing down the gently brush along the floor in a regal manner.

They all watched in amazement as Dumbledore began removing the glamour that had been put on her during her childhood and she transformed before their eyes, Poppy contributing by spelling her hair to braid itself into plait down her back.

She gasped as she felt her body change unexpectedly, her facial features rearranging themselves slightly and her hair lengthening and lightening before Poppy's spell pulled it back from her face. The biggest change she felt was the one within as Minerva placed the gold circlet around her head so that it rested gently against her forehead.

"Come my dear, it is time to fill the holes in your memory." No one spoke as Dumbledore held out his hand.

Leanne looked at it in trepidation. If she took his hand now she knew there'd be no turning back and the famous lines from the Spider Man movie flew through her mind that with great power comes great responsibility. She knew this was her chance to make an impact on the world and change things for the better and so she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the Pensive that sat to the side of the room against the wall.

"Now you must remember not to speak in this memory my dear," the young woman knew wisdom when she saw it and listened carefully to the Headmaster's instructions, "to do so would disrupt the whole fabric of the memory, causing it to collapse, killing us instantly before we could escape." Leanne nodded and, following Albus' directives, leant over the pensive.

Having read the Headmaster's letter before arriving, she wondered if her easy acceptance of something that had long since been fiction in her world could be contributed to some sort of instinctual knowledge linked to the blood of her ancestors that ran through her veins.

Before she could fully process the thought, she was sucked into the pensive and distracted by one of the most beautiful studies she'd ever seen. Remembering to keep silent, she moved to the sofa Dumbledore directed her too and sat down, making herself relax as he started transferring his knowledge of magic and spells into her mind. Next came "memories" for two glass vials, the labels reading 'Hermione Granger' and 'Severus Snape'.

She stored the names away in the back of her mind, along with her previous thoughts before entering the pensive and took the cup of tea Albus handed her and relaxed back against the sofa, closing her eyes to allow the information to settle in her mind and mix with her own memories, the whole process done silently.

She could feel the Headmaster cast several spells on her as she sat sipping her tea and with each one nonverbally cast, she could feel the memories settle more firmly in her mind until they solidified with a feeling so intense she felt it only right they should have been accompanied by an audible click.

Such random notions were a uniquely individual aspect of her personality and their typically unexpected occurrence brought a smile to her lips.

Leanne took a deep breath after several moments, opened her eyes and silently stood to her feet with a smile and a nod of thanks as Albus took her empty cup from her.

His knowledge of this place informed her in detail of the reasons she was not allowed to speak in this memory. He had put the memory under statis years ago, weaving a complicated set of spells into it so that it could be used like any other room with the only draw back being that one word spoken would cause the memory to collapse in on itself, severely injuring and very probably killing its inhabitants. The knowledge of how the spells were cast left her mind reeling for a moment and Leanne pushed herself, testing her mind and calling up complicated bits of information so that it would get used to it and stop reeling.

It took five minutes before Leanne's determination paid off and her mind no longer reeled at recalling the masses of information it had received. The only drawback of forcing her mind to come to grips with all her new knowledge so quickly was the slightly sea sick feeling it created.

Dumbledore once again proffered his hand to her once he saw that she was ready and Leanne felt herself being pulled out of the memory, her feet landing with a firm 'thump' back inside the office. She quickly but gracefully lowered herself into a well placed chair, the extraction from the memory with all its swirling mist and colours intensifying her sea sick feeling and causing her mind to reel slightly.

A popping noise startled her as a house elf appeared in front of her and bowed deeply. On her small frame she wore miniature wizarding robes, their colour a deep purple – a colour, along with its sisters of deep red, deep blue and gold, had always been connected to royalty in her mind.

"Good evening Your Highness," the little creature spoke as she stood from her bow. "I am Lucy your Highness. I am one of the elves who served your parents at the palace. You must come with me now so that we can transfer their knowledge of your Kingdom to you." Lucy did not wait for a reply or any sort of permission before she grabbed Leanne's hand and they disappeared with another resounding crack.

Severus Snape jumped to his feet to render assistance seconds too late.

So much for being a top class spy.

"Calm yourself Severus. Lucy was one of the Royal's most trusted members of staff. She is simply following orders that the King and Queen's have always given in case of such a situation. They will be back in no time and completely unharmed." Dumbledore sat back in his chair, summoning several cups of coffee and a small tea set for the room's occupants.

Severus scowled at the old man as he twinkled at him and stalked to his chair in a flurry of robes. He did not like this _one bit_ and Albus knew it!

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Leanne stared at the dank, dark cave walls that surrounded her and her family's elf. There had been one of Dumbledore's memories mixed in with the knowledge he transferred to her.

The memory of her parent's murder. Or rather the news of their murder and the details surrounding it.

Leanne shrieked at the feel of a blade slicing her hand open and tried to yank her hand out of Lucy's surprisingly firm grip.

"I'm sorry Your Highness but it must be done. Only _your _blood can open the doorway."

She was about to ask 'what doorway?' when Lucy splashed the little cup of blood she had collected onto the wall in front of them and it started to move to one side without a sound. Torches inside the new room lit and she was shocked at the decadence within. So completely enthralled was she that she didn't notice Lucy sealing and healing the wound on her hand.

The floor was covered in Persian rugs and a delicate ornate French chair, sofa and chaise set dominated one wall, the opposite side of the cavern room taken up completely by three large and ancient looking pensives. Ancient runes decorated the old stone instruments and shimmered lightly with magic. Spellbound by the sight and feel of such precious magic – magic laid by her ancestors – Leanne allowed herself to be led to the first pensive and lent over the shimmering silver surface, needing no further prodding by Lucy and she was quickly sucked into it.

Lucy sat calmly as she waited, conjuring a book to read to keep her mind occupied while she waited for her Mistress' return. She knew that at that moment magic and memories were swirling around inside the first Pensive, integrating themselves within the Princess' mind at an alarming speed. She also understood that that was all she'd be needed for that night. Once the Princess returned from the first Pensive she would go straight to the next until she had visited all three and taken in the information and knowledge of her Kingdom.

Twenty minutes later Leanne exited the first Pensive, her face wet and streaked with tears from the memories she had just viewed. She did not utter a single word as she made her way to the second Pensive and sank into it and Lucy sighed. She knew that the first Pensive was always the hardest as it contained the memories of the monarchs that came before the next leader of their realm. It would be harder still if the last memory you viewed was the death of parents you had never had the chance to get to know.

Lucy knew that the second Pensive would be easier, containing the magical knowledge of all the previous rulers of The Kingdom. The third contained knowledge of The Kingdom itself and how to rule it effectively. When she came out of the last Pensive she would be ready to take her place on the throne and rule the magical world as her ancestors had done before her.

With their combined knowledge, she would rule with a soft heart and an iron fist.

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By the time Leanne and Lucy arrived back at the Castle gates, dawn had arrived and was spreading its first tentative rays over the earth and bird song was just beginning to fill the air.

The Princess began her walk up to the Headmaster's Office with the hope that the fresh dewy air would help clear the cobwebs out of her mind long enough for her to finish her meeting with the Headmaster and make it to her room to get some sleep before the students arrived later that evening.

The corridors were blessedly empty this early in the morning and the slight chill of the Scottish highlands and silence of the corridors continued to help her battered mind find peace. She knew that as soon as the students arrived, peace and quite would become but a memory. A thing of the past. And she'd had enough of those things to last her a lifetime. Her brain still felt like it was rattling around inside her skull at the amount of information she'd taken in and she knew that only a good night sleep would allow her mind to settle and she was very much looking forward to getting to bed.

Lucy walked silently at her Mistress' side as they made their way briskly through the dimly lit corridors towards the Headmaster's office. The stone gargoyle immediately bowed on seeing their approach and moved to the side to allow them entry. Leanne thanked him and curtsied as though she'd been doing it all her life but it was clear that her mind was elsewhere.

She made her way up the winding staircase, the dark wood of the Headmaster's door taking up her entire line of sight as she reached the top and pulling her out of her thoughts. She studied the intricate patterns for a moment, seeing the spells that were hidden beneath the wood before raising her hand and knocking, entering at the Headmaster's call.

The various instruments whizzed and whirred as she made her way up the small flight of steps and to the chair the Headmaster indicated for her to sit in. Beside it on a small table at her elbow was a steaming cup of tea. She gladly took up the cup and took a sip of the fortifying British beverage, ignoring the whispers of the portraits on the walls as she made herself comfortable before the Headmaster continued their meeting.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Midwinter," Dumbledore smiled at Leanne's momentary confusion, expecting the surname of the family she had been brought up in. "You will be going by Amelia Elena Christina Midwinter now will you not?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Of course. Forgive me Headmaster. My mind is still taking a little time to catch up with all of the information it has received in the past couple of hours. It is a lot to take in, what with my ancestors and former rulers' knowledge."

"Then I shall not keep you long Your Highness." Amelia smiled in thanks and nodded her head gratefully to the Headmaster completely poised and knowing he had more to say. "This evening, as I'm sure you are aware, will bring with it the arrival of this year's students and I will have to announce your identity to the school. As such, I thought it may be best to invite some low key journalists to the Welcoming Feast so that the knowledge of your return can be spread to the whole of the Wizarding World.

"If you are anything like your parents then I am sure you will want to get straight to work with all the Ministries to make sure everything is up to date and running smoothly and as such, I have used my position as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and Chief Warlock to get copies of all the legislation in circulation within the different Ministries. All of this information has been moved to your private rooms within the castle and is ready for your perusal and additions. I also believe, taking into consideration your desire to get right down to business, that having your presence made known as soon as I inform the student body would work out well for all involved."

"You are quite right Headmaster. Unveiling my presence to the school and to the worldat the same time will not allow the press to degrade this school and accuse you of with-holding information," Amelia ignored the slight pink tinge to the Headmaster's cheeks. Of course she saw straight to his real motives. She was, by the will of God and the move of magic, to be the Queen of this world and her ancestor's memories taught her all she needed to know to do her job well. "If you can be sure of the characters of the people you call to be present for the announcement then I am not against it. _However_," She watched the Headmaster still, "there must be a set structure to the evening. The reporters may _not_ be seated at the Head Table and are _not_ allowed their cameras during the actual meal. Any questions they have for me must be submitted in advance and I will meet them in the chamber off the side of the Great Hall for questions and photos once the meal has concluded.

"You must understand Headmaster that I must be given time to call my guards to me. Magic is preparing them as we speak and letting them know of their duty to the Throne. As such we will have to increase the size of the chamber off the Great Hall so that it can accommodate all." Amelia's voice was strong and firm and Dumbledore knew that she was not _requesting_ but _commanding_.There was no room in her requirements for his manipulation – she would see to that.

For once in his long life, Albus Dumbledore felt bested by a woman who was no more than a child to his 150 years.

"Of course Your Highness." Dumbledore nodded his head in respect, denying to himself that the action smarted slightly. "I will start preparations straight away."

Amelia smiled brightly as she stood to her feet, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "I'm sure you've had the letters ready for the reports for days Albus. But let us not send them until we've both had some sleep yes?" Her eyes continued to twinkle mischievously and Dumbledore finally understood why that look on _his_ face agitated Severus so. "I am sure that as soon as the first owl is sent we will get nothing but continuous harassment from them for private meetings until the feast arrives."

"Of course Your Highness." Dumbledore nodded again and spoke before she could say another thing, but so focused was he on not being bested once again by this young child before him, that he did not realise she had nothing further to add but a simple and courteous 'goodnight'. "I am sure you are exhausted after the day you have had. Lucy is well aware of the lay out of this castle and will lead you to your rooms." Dumbledore stood and offered the young Princess his arm, leading her to the door.

Amelia was more than aware of the agitation she had caused the Headmaster but knew that it was crucial. He was an old and powerful man who saw no limit to his knowledge and wisdom. The last thing she needed was him trying to manipulate her or tell her how to rule her Kingdom. She had to begin how she intended to go on.

"Thank you for your time and patience this evening Headmaster and for all the help you have provided. Not only with the use of your Pensive and the use of your connections to supply me with legislation and a place to stay but also for the tea." Amelia smiled jesterfully. "Your help is greatly appreciated." The Headmaster nodded his thanks of the praise with a smile and bowed to her as they reached the door. "I bid you Goodnight Your Highness. Until dinner this evening."

"Good Evening, Headmaster."

Amelia curtsied with a polite smile and nodded, turning to follow Lucy and disappeared down the corridor to her rooms, leaving a disgruntled Headmaster behind her.

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**AN: **I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next chapter up soon. =D XX


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